Russia-Ukraine war: Pro-Ukraine group sabotaged Nordstream pipeline, US intelligence says

New intelligence that was reviewed by officials from the United States suggested that a pro-Ukraine group was behind the sabotage of the Nordstream pipeline that carried natural gas from Russia to Europe. However, the intelligence also did not find any involvement from Kyiv.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that intelligence seen by US officials found a pro-Ukraine group was behind the sabotage of the Nordstream pipeline that supplied Europe with natural gas from Russia. But the report said the intelligence did not find any indication that the Ukrainian government was directly involved in the effort, which the US and NATO called “an act of sabotage” and occurred seven months after Russia invaded last year.

The sabotage destroyed three of the four pipelines that ran under the Baltic Sea. Moscow has blamed Ukraine’s western supporters and called on the United Nations Security Council to independently probe the matter. Neither side has provided evidence.

The US officials familiar with the report said that aside from having no evidence that the Ukrainian government was involved, there was also no indication that those who carried out the sabotage were acting at the behest of any Ukrainian government officials.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Washington was still waiting for the findings from the investigations conducted by Germany, Sweden, and Denmark to make a conclusion, “and then only should we be looking at what follow-on actions might or may not be appropriate.”

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters in response to the report that Kyiv had no involvement in the sabotage of the pipelines and had no information about what happened.

Meanwhile, Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu recently made a rare appearance on the ground in Ukraine.

The British defense ministry, in its intelligence bulletin, said Shoigu’s visit was likely in response to the footage shared by Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin who visited his fighters on the front lines in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. The Wagner Group is currently in a dispute with the Russian defense ministry and the ministry said Shoigu is “likely sensitive to being compared to Prigozhin.”

“The only deployed Russian field commander shown in the video was Colonel General Rustam Muradov. It is notable that Muradov is responsible for the Vuhledar sector of Donetsk Oblast, where several assaults have failed in the last three months,” said the ministry.